Corey Seager back in starting lineup

For the first time in almost a week, Corey Seager is back in the Dodgers lineup in the DH position tonight. Seager exited the game last Friday night with lower back discomfort.

“It’s good news,” manager Dave Roberts said to the media on Thursday afternoon. “I didn’t expect him to be ready to play in a a game tonight. They’ve done a tremendous job getting him ready.”

Prior to missing nearly a week, Seager was by far the hottest hitter on the team. He was hitting .340/.389/.600/.989 with three homers, seven runs driven in and four doubles. This will be the first time all season he has hit second, and it will be the first time he’s hit second in a regular season game since September 8 of last season.

With the offense struggling as of late, adding LA’s hottest hitter back to the lineup is certainly going to be a huge boost.

“That stability of a guy who is confident at the plate,” Roberts said when asked what Seager brings to the team. “He’s a hit collector. He hits all fields. When guys are trying to find their footing in the batters box. I just felt that for him to get 4 or 5 at bats, get traffic, run some pitch counts up, it’ll ultimately make everyone around him better.”

It did come as a bit of a surprise to see Seager back in the lineup tonight. Roberts said that he recovered a lot quicker than they expected. He said that Seager’s body is moving well and he’s currently experiencing no discomfort. Roberts didn’t give an exact date as to when we can see him return to shortstop.

Update on Alex Wood

Two weeks ago, Alex Wood was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. It looks as if he’s close to return to the starting rotation. According to Roberts, Wood threw two innings today against DJ Peters and Gavin Lux.

“It was good,” Roberts said. “He was around 30 pitches. Fastball had life, location and command. Breaking ball was sharp and changeup was good. Today was a very good step in the right direction. On Saturday he’ll potentially throw a bullpen. Next Tuesday we’ll do a three-inning situation.”

Wood only made one start before being placed on the IL. He threw three innings On July 25 against the Giants. He allowed three runs on three hits, along with striking out four and walking three.

Other news and notes

• Will Smith is unavailable today, unless there’s an emergency situation. He exited last nights game with a sore neck. He’ll also be out of the lineup tomorrow. Roberts doesn’t expect this to be an IL situation.
• The Dodgers don’t have Tony Gonsolin penciled in for a start. However, depending on how things shape out with the bullpen over the next few games, Roberts said the idea of him getting another start makes some sense. Gonsolin made his second start of the season last night, throwing 4 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless ball while striking out a career-high eight batters.